To be
precise, temporomandibular joint symptoms are as varied
as their treatment protocols. This treatise intends to
take up the symptoms first while devoting itself to the
treatment procedures later.
To
simplify the intricacy of the TMJ symptoms, these are
categorized to three basic types – Primary, Secondary
and
Atypical. As a matter of fact, the primary symptoms
of the TMJ disorder relate to those that are common,
easy to identify and are mostly present in casual, acute
and chronic cases, while the secondary symptoms are less
common, somewhat deceptive, often leading to
misdiagnosis. As for atypical TMJ symptoms, they can
create more migraine in the attending physician than in
the TMJ sufferer. However, all three are discussed here
for the benefit of the reader.
Primary
TMJ Symptoms
These
symptoms of the TMJ disorder relate to inflammation and
pain in the jaw joint that is accompanied by tenderness
in the neighboring muscles, tendons, ligaments, tissues
and bones. There is uneasiness in opening and closing
the jaw (in other words, the mouth) – clicking or
popping sound whenever the jaw is opened and restricted
mouth opening (biting an apple becomes a difficult
proposition). Primary TMJ symptoms also include
headache, ear ache (without any infection, discharge or
loss of hearing), pain in the forehead and other facial
areas (myofascial pain syndrome) and sinus-like
stuffiness and tenderness.
Secondary
TMJ Symptoms
These are
a bit illusory and so needs more careful observation and
they include sensitivity to light, blurred vision, pain
behind the eyeball that is associated with a feeling of
pressure behind the eyes and watering in the
eyes.
As for the
ears, a majority of TMJ sufferers complain about hearing
Tinnitus-like sounds in their ears. Although it may
create suspense among many as to why TMJ disorder
patients tend to hear ringing, hissing, whooshing and
roaring sounds as in Tinnitus, in reality it is a rather
unfussy occurrence. This happens because of a tendon
called Pinto’s Ligament that connects the TMJ with the
middle ear and therefore is responsible for transmitting
any stress related event from the TMJ to the mid-ear
with significant effect.
Secondary
TMJ symptoms also include cluster headache, migraines
and tenderness in the scalp and hair roots as well as
pain in the cheek, chin and around the mouth. In fact,
the entire facial area becomes painful on account of the
temporomandibular jaw joint
dysfunction.
Doctors
looking for TMJ symptoms should also check for unusually
painful neck muscles, swallowing problems and sore
throat without any trace of infection or other external
causes since these are also indicators of the
temporomandibular joint disorder.
Atypical
TMJ Symptoms
These
include swelling in the jaw and cheek which becomes more
pronounced on the side that is affected. Even though
inflammation in and around the affected jaw is a common
feature of TMJ, it seldom extends to the neighboring
areas. Among the more unusual TMJ disorder symptoms,
numbness in the fingers may be described as unique and
exceptional. However, it rarely occurs and most often
goes away on its own.
Yet
another uncharacteristic symptom of TMJ disorder very
rarely experienced by chronic TMJ patients concern
constant jaw dislocation without accompanying pain or
other signs of distress. The situation often gets so
exasperating that the patient has to sleep with a hard
pillow pressing against the affected joint lest the jaw
gets dislocated while in sleep.
TMJ
Treatment Options And What Really
Works
Since most
TMJ disorders arise out of misalignment of the jaw,
dislocation of the jaw joint as well as displacement of
the mandibular disc, treatment procedures include
Arthrocentesis, Arthroplasty and Discectomy; out of
which Arthrocentesis, which is performed for irrigating
the temporomandibular joint is the least invasive and
risk-free treatment option for TMJ disorder. However it
is always best to contact the physician first for these
surgical measures for TMJ cure.
Performed
under general anesthesia or IV sedation, the operating
surgeon injects the temporomandibular joint with local
anesthetic and a viscous solution to flush out inflamed
fluids. Sometimes steroids are also pushed to take care
of excessive swelling.
However,
Arthroplasty which refers to several forms of open
surgery for temporomandibular joint including disc
repositioning, discectomy and joint replacement (if the
joint is found totally degenerated) may vary from
minimally invasive to complex forms of surgery with
usual accompanying risks. In fact the chances of post
operative pain, bleeding and infection are there, to be
honest about it. Moreover, the probability of injury to
the sensitive facial motor nerves can not be totally
ruled out.
Home TMJ
Remedies, Exercises To Relieve TMJ &
More
There are
many treatment options really for those who want TMJ
relief, but can they really provide the relief? The
answer to this is ‘No’. TMJ home remedies, exercises,
conventional and over the counter solutions can all
provide relief from the symptoms, but these symptoms
almost always come back to haunt the person again. This
is because, the root causes remain within the body and
there treatments do not try to solve these root
causes.
On the
other hand, holistic remedies treat the body as a whole
and identify these contributing factors that cause TMJ,
and treat them. Thus once these root causes go away, the
symptoms go too. And since there are no more root causes
within the body, the TMJ problem never comes back again
to worry the person.
